


Hear Me Out

by clovenhooves



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Gen, Invader Arcs, lol this is literally going to make no sense unless you've read iz arcs lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 01:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20788382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clovenhooves/pseuds/clovenhooves
Summary: Oh shit it's Dax!!!!!This takes place in the Invader Arcs universe haha. Also for the sake of plot I'm going to assume Professor Membrane has some kind of irken technology implanted in Dibble's noggin, be it a cloaking chip, memory storage, or what have you.





	Hear Me Out

“We don’t…_have_ to.”

It was cold out here. Dib puffed up the collar on his trench coat as he looked up at his tall companion. He bit his lip as he watched Max’s LED face flash dangerously at his words.

“Trust me,” he quickly added, “I want nothing more than to see _his stupid lying green head split open on a table_ –“ he grit his teeth. The thought of it stirred confusing emotions in his stomach. Triumph, anger, excitement…something else. Something he couldn’t identify. Something that tightened his throat. “But. Y’know.” He gave a half-committal shrug.

**_i don’t think i know_** served as Max’s reply. Curt. Confused.

“…look. If _we_ kill Zim – our own hands – it’s on _us._ Everyone who fell for his trap, they’ll—” he made a vague gesture with his hands, pointing to himself and to Max. “…they’ll turn on us. If we just capture him and turn him in? They’ll cut him open for sure, and we get away with none of the blood on our own hands.”

There was a pause. Dib could feel his heart starting to pound against his chest. He had no idea why he was so nervous saying this. In a strange sense it almost felt like a betrayal, in multiple ways; to Max for backing out of their plan, and to – no. Not to _him_. The isolation must be driving him nuts out here, Dib figured, shaking his head subconsciously at the thought. He didn’t owe Zim a damn thing.

**_it’d be nice to be a hero_**_. _Dib smiled. “Yeah. It would.”

** _i still want to do it myself though. what if we made a fake garbage zim and handed it over instead. _ **

Dib pursed his lips. “I don’t think that’ll work.”

** _i could fill it with meat and stuff. _ **

“Yeah that’s. Not much better.” His mind kept wandering. It’s like he could see Zim on the autopsy table right in front of him. Those horrible alien eyes staring aimlessly. Probably scowled in hatred, like Dib had seen them a thousand times before. He could see it all so clearly, could see the scalpel in his hand, could see himself prodding the tip of the blade against Zim’s uniform – but then. Nothing. There was nothing but a funny feeling in his stomach and a coldness in his blood. There was a realization creeping up on him that he refused to entertain.

It wasn’t until Max spoke again that he was startled out of his thoughts.

** _hey. maybe we could… _ **

Dib perked up. “Maybe we could what?”

Max laughed. It sounded mean in the dark.

**_you need the lab. for my new body. _Dib nodded. _what if. we told everybody that we changed our minds. like…lying. _**

Dib’s shoulders drooped. He’d seen what Gaz and his dad were saying in his absence, the few times he’d accidentally popped into the Discord while they were online. Would they believe him? Would they be so desperate and scared that they’d accept his seemingly overnight change of heart?

A gust of dry, cold air whisked past the two of them. Dib took in a slow breath, then released it as a sigh. “I don’t know, Max. What if they don’t believe us? They could…I don’t know. I’ve been gone for a while. I ran away. I yelled at Dad. And—” his mouth clamped shut. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. There was another feeling underpinning all of this. Tainting his words, muddling his thoughts. He felt…_guilty._ And he had no idea why. And he hated that. He hated not knowing, not understanding. Back to that image of Zim on the autopsy table. Back to the blade he couldn’t even think of plunging into his disgusting extraterrestrial stomach.

** _and what. _ **

Dib shook his head. “I just think we should think about it a little more. There’s got to be another way.” Max’s LEDs started flashing again. He beeped. Dib winced. “I think it would be safer that way. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

**_me neither. you’re my friend. i trust you!! :] _**The emoticon face was the least reassuring thing about the situation.

Dib pulled his knees up to his chest. He really should’ve prepared better in general. Like packing appropriate clothes. Or snacks.

The rest of their evening together was uneventful. As they talked Dib moved himself closer and closer to Max without even realizing, the other boy’s robotic body being a rather pleasant heat source. It felt like sitting next to a radiator. Eventually, Dib began to feel his eyes start to droop. Despite the cold and hunger and unpleasant griminess of his dirty clothes, he couldn’t stop his body from wanting to curl up into much needed sleep.

“I think I’m gonna have to go to bed soon, Max.” He heard the boy give a single beep in response. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I really enjoyed talking to you.” He paused. Hesitant. “Hey…um.” A cough. “Is it. Am I allowed to hug you.”

Max whooped, a high and cheery noise. **_yes!!! be careful though. i didn’t leave my blood at home and i’m kinda sharp. _**

“I don’t care, dude.” He turned around and stood up so that he was facing Max. With his height he only came up to the microwave oven Max had incorporated into his body. It still smelled faintly of popcorn.

Max wrapped an arm around Dib – the stronger one made of cans and metal and knives. He _was_ sharp. But strong. Safe. Despite his earlier anxiety Dib felt himself relax. He knew Max wouldn’t hurt him. Max was his friend. Possibly his only friend, now. Dib wrapped his arms awkwardly around the microwave torso.

“Thank you, Max…I really needed this.”

Max laughed again.** _i’m glad to be there for my friend!_**

“Thank you,” Dib sighed. “Reall—”

Burning. The smell of sparks and metal. The sensation of something poking him in the back of the head. Dib shuddered, then jerked, whole body vibrating with a peculiar if not outright painful sensation. There was barely any time for a response before he felt his consciousness fall away. A sensation of falling, the kind you get right before you try to go to sleep. He had the faintest sensation of his head slamming hard against the top of the RV before everything went dark.

***

Dib awoke to the night sky. It was so clear from out here. If his head weren’t pounding he might’ve taken a moment to wistfully marvel at the cosmos – but there were more pressing matters at hand, such as _why was his body standing up he didn’t tell it to do that. _

He didn’t tell it to stand up. He didn’t tell it to turn around and look up and look at his hands. What the fuck.

“Dib?” He said – except it wasn’t him, his voice was _weird_, it had a shaky sort of cadence to it, as though the speaker were struggling to adjust to using these clumsy flesh lips—

_Max?! _Dib said – thought. He thought it clear and loud but no matter what he tried his mouth refused to cooperate. No. No no no no no. This – this was _impossible_. How could this be happening? Was Max…

“Dib! Thank you so much!” Max squealed with his voice before hugging his arms around himself, spinning in a circle. “I’ll take real good care of this, I promise!”

_Max, this was NOT a part of our plan_, Dib thought, feeling delirious. Max stretched his face into a wide smile. He began to climb down from the RV. With a sickening jolt Dib realized he could no longer feel his body, his arms and legs nothing but numb abstractions barely in his field of vision. _Max. MAX! _

Max leapt the last few feet to the ground. He stumbled, not entirely used to his new height and these limbs, before falling onto the grass. He giggled, rolling around a few times until he was on his back. “I’m doing us a favor. Friends stick together!” He sat up. Dib watched Max examine his hands. “Sometimes they just need a little push!”

_This isn’t a fucking PUSH, this is – this is my BODY! _Dib thrashed. He fought and screamed against the control, but his efforts were in vain. He existed isolated in his brain, now, small in comparison to Max’s vast and buzzing programming. It made his – their? – head hurt.

“I’m trying to remind you of what we’re _fighting _for.” Max stood up, stretched. Dib wondered if he could feel how badly his joints were aching with more than a little resentment, wondered if the boy could sense the hunger stabbing at his belly. Then, with a responding pang of guilt, he wondered if Max were _glad_ to be able to feel these things.

“Now let me just…” Dib felt another pang in his head. “Try and find the way home…”

Max began to walk.

***

Max’s excitement at having his very own _real _human body almost made Dib feel genuine guilt. He ran most of the way home, sometimes jumping, other times cartwheeling, making his trench coat flutter in the wind. He was clearly enjoying himself. “It’s nice to be able to be as rough as I want with this body,” he said, sometime along the way. “Without, you know, worrying about it falling apart.”

_So what are you gonna do then_, Dib asked. _Come home? Pretend to be me? _

“It won’t be for long. Just long enough to prevent you from running away again. Don’t worry. I’m a very good actor.”

Dib wondered if Max intended on giving Dib back his body at all – a thought which Max was apparently privy to, as he made them stop in their tracks. “I’m just trying to be a good _friend_, Dib.” He crossed his arms. “I care about you. And about our plan. I’m trying to help you remember that. Just for a day or two, Dib! Then you can come back to _my_ body and I’ll leave you alone until it’s time.” He hissed out the word _my_ like it was venom. If Dib were still able to, he’d avoid Max’s gaze – but _everywhere _was his gaze, everywhere was an extension of him now. There was no where he could run.

***

“Home sweet home, right?” Max said out loud, spotting the Membrane household from across the street. They’d been walking for a while. Dib had let himself settle to the back of his mind, like sediment at the bottom of a fish tank. Passive.

After Dib didn’t respond Max opted to proceed forward, towards the front door. The glow of the streetlamps above burned down upon him – the two of them, really. To Dib it felt like a spotlight. It brought to mind police helicopters. He felt their shared heart pick up speed again.

_Don’t,_ he thought fast. Max stopped. _Don’t go through the front door. I…I can’t face my dad right now. _

“But I’m gonna talk to him,” Max mumbled.

_I know. But. I don’t want to do that tonight. Please, Max. _

Max shrugged and took a step back. “Where do you want to come in, then?”

_The window. See the tree? _Max brought their gaze to the haggard oak leaning against the house. _You can climb in._

As Max began to walk towards the tree Dib ruminated. How was this even going to work? Were they going to talk to anybody before going to bed? Or would they just find him the next morning, bruised and cold and probably smelling disgusting but okay? Maybe that was for the better. More sympathetic. Yes, that could let things work out a little better.

It was such an odd sensation, being perfectly aware of the world around you while being able to impact none of it. Having spent some time adjusting to Dib’s body, Max scaled the tree with relative ease, prodding at Dib’s memory of the action with an unpleasant tingling sensation deep in his brain. He sat on the branch overlooking the window and hooked his thumbs under the ridge where it was flush with the sill.

_The lights are off. I think we’re okay. _Max smiled.

They entered in through the window as quiet as possible, Max tumbling in and landing squarely on his feet.

_I’m still gonna be mad at you for this. For a while. _

Max put a hand on his hip. “You’ll be thankful when our plan’s done. You’re gonna be really happy when you get to see _his _gross guts strung out everywhere.”

_Keep my voice down! _Dib barked. He had no idea what time it was. Gaz tended to be awake at ungodly hours of the night anyway. He could only hope she had headphones on right now.

Except – what was that sound? Ugh, it was so irritating to not be able to control himself at this moment, to be unable to tiptoe past the ruined door frame and listen into the hallway. There was a rustling coming from down the hall, covered by another sound, something rhythmic with the grain distinctive of something being played through a phone speaker. Max, apparently oblivious, took to looking around Dib’s room, plodding clumsily over to his bedside drawer.

_Max, what is that? I don’t want us to get caught before we’re ready. _

Max smirked. **_don’t worry_**_,_ he thought, and _man_ was that a weird sensation, having another voice in Dib’s head**, _that’s what we want, isn’t it? i wanna talk to gaz anyway._**

_Max, no—_

Against Dib’s wishes (like with everything else) Max stood up straight, abandoning the drawer and opting to walk out into the hall. And that’s when it hit Dib, as Max unceasingly approached Gaz’s bedroom door – it was. Fuck.

Gaz was blasting _Touch-Tone Telephone_ of all things, in the middle of the night, from her phone—oh.

Max, either not noticing or not caring to heed Dib’s feelings, made a show of knocking softly on the bedroom door. He cleared his throat. “Gaz?...” He was speaking softer, the energy pulled right out of his tone. It sounded more…Dib-ish. It was unsettling. Dib began to feel a cold and uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was starting to _really _not like this.

There was more rustling from inside. The bed creaked, and the music abruptly stopped. Dib heard a sniffle from inside, a pang shooting through his heart. “Gaz? It’s…it’s me, Gaz. Please.”

“Dib?” Gaz’s voice was quiet, shaking. Dib really really didn’t like this. This was…wrong. It should be him doing this. It should be him apologizing.

Max opened the door and took a hesitant step inside. He pulled their face into a pained look of shame. Their gaze hit the floor. “Yeah.”

Gaz stumbled to her feet. She looked at him for a second, and for one heart-stopping moment Dib thought she were somehow able to see the _presence _inside him, the cybernetic spirit tumbling around his brain.

But…no. She was walking, rushing towards him, arms outstretched, and Dib readied himself for a punch he knew he wouldn’t be able to feel—

No. Max didn’t look away despite Dib’s urges to shut their eyes and tense, and he watched as Gaz’s arms wrapped strong around Dib’s body, holding it tight against her. She buried her face in his shoulder.

“Don’t…do that. Please. Don’t ever fucking do that again,” Gaz mumbled. Max went to wrap his arms back around her in return, securing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I changed my mind.” Gaz froze up and pulled them apart. She brushed a lock of hair out of her face, stiff with tears.

“You—you did?”

_Liar_, Dib thought, scornful.

“I’m so sorry Gaz. I was…stupid. Really stupid.” Max shook his head. He’d even added a quaver to his voice. It was almost disgusting. Dib could feel the anger boiling up in his head.

_You’re just. You’re just a liar, Max. _Dib’s mind was reeling. He was starting to panic, and it only now dawned on him how claustrophobic of a feeling this was. He couldn’t move or yell or do a damn thing to warn Gaz of what kind of person she had just allowed into their home. His brain began to flash old information – stories of changelings and alien body snatchers and encantado hiding among humans. But in reality, all of them weren’t human at all, they were, they were—

A sharp pain and Dib suddenly felt himself get farther away. Gaz and Max’s voices were muffled, like he was underwater. It was as though Dib had been shoved further down into his subconscious.

** _that’s not. a very nice thing to think about your friend. _ **

_Max—_

It was harder to think now. All Dib could do was feel. If he strained, he could faintly hear Max saying something like “I want to make this right.” Another surge of sickness hit Dib like a wave. He wondered if Max could feel it. “Especially with Zim. He really deserves my apology.” Dib could feel those awful feelings from earlier bubbling up again despite his best efforts to hold them down. It was no use – he lived in the pure subconscious now, where everything was instant and disorienting and painful.

“I think—” Max stuttered. Cleared his throat. “Maybe I should visit him tomorrow. So I can formally apologize.”

Before Dib could hear whether or not Gaz was buying that, he felt yet another ache deep in his skull. Max’s voice boomed. Dib wanted to curl up deep into his mind and disappear. Max wouldn’t let him.

** _YOU. _ **

As far as he knew, Max was still interacting with Gaz, joking with her, while he simultaneously spat betrayed hatred at Dib from within his own mind.

** _you. you don’t want to kill him. you don’t want to do the plan at all. you lied. to me. you. lied. dib. _ **

_Max- _

_… _

_… _

He couldn’t think anymore.

** _bad friends lose their consciousness privileges. _ **

***

Gaz would part ways with her brother after a long and tearful talk. Above all she was just so, so relieved that he was back. She watched him walk back to his bedroom to sleep with a distant surreal feeling. The whole interaction almost didn’t feel real.

Not wanting to let her thoughts wander for any longer, Gaz opted to get into bed as well. It…_was_ weird how fast Dib seemed to have changed his mind. And weird how quick he was to own up to it. Dib was stubborn, and _really_ stupid sometimes, but the past few weeks had admittedly shaken her view of him.

She didn’t want to think that.

She didn’t want to see her brother as this…unhinged maniac plotting murder in the woods.

Maybe he was coming to his senses, she thought, turning over onto her pillow.

Maybe he was growing up.


End file.
